A number of major retailers in Hertford including Boots, New Look, and Superdrug look set to leave the town this year, following the closure of Starbucks

The stores, all of which are in the Bircherley Green Shopping Centre, have been earmarked for demolition as part of the site’s redevelopment, plans for which were approved by East Herts Council in October.

Under the plans, all the shops passed the gate near Holland and Barrett will be demolished, meaning Card Factory, Timpson, the Carphone Warehouse, YMCA and the old Waitrose will also go, alongside a number of independent businesses.

Boots say they are "trying to find a solution"

They will be replaced with a modern shopping street leading through to a landscaped public square on the riverside, with 70 flats above them — although this number may be amended to make space for a new GP surgery.

Several other businesses have already left the shopping centre, including the Bagelette cafe, Serendipity Foods, and Hob Salons.

Read More

On Thursday (January 11), a spokeswoman for Boots said that they were trying to “find a solution” with the developers.

She added: “At Boots UK, caring for our communities is at the heart of what we do.

“We are in conversation with the developer, and as such are unable to comment further on market speculation.”

Meanwhile a spokeswoman for Superdrug confirmed that the store would be shutting, but that a date had not yet been set.

She added: "We will let our customers know as soon as we have a confirmed date."

This comes after a spokeswoman for New Look denied reports in December that the store would be closing this coming May, instead insisting that they would remain in the unit until their tenancy expired in September.

However, John McHale, director of developers Wrenbridge, confirmed that he expected all the affected shops in the shopping centre to close this year so that work could begin.

Read More

He said: “I appreciate of course that there will always be some people who weren't aware of what the plans entailed but we went through a four-year-long consultation process explaining what is going to happen.

“There has to be a period where there is nothing on the ground floor but we hope we’ll be improving the retail environment for the town.

“All retail units within our ownership will be demolished to make way for the new buildings.”

On Railway Street, the Lloyds building, the old Halfords and Isabel Hospice will also be demolished to make way for an 86-bed hotel.

This phase of the work will “definitely” begin this year, Mr McHale said.

Starbucks shut its doors in early January

It is less clear when work could begin inside the shopping centre, as they had promised the council to wait until the NHS had determined whether they would like to go ahead with plans for the surgery, he explained.

It is hoped that the new retail units will be completed to a shell condition and ready for retailers to begin adapting to their needs within 12 months of work commencing.

A council spokeswoman said that the development would bring “significant benefits” to the town.

She continued: “That includes a new cluster of retailers in modern accommodation that the town lacks; a new hotel attracting significant visitor numbers and other leisure users to the town; new residential accommodation to meet a housing need and enliven the area, and not least a development which enhances the riverside area.

"We’ve been talking to the town council about options around supporting creative uses of the empty units during the development phase.

"In the longer term the development will benefit the town in terms of retail and many other ways.”

A spokeswoman for Carphone Warehouse said: "Our store continues to trade on Bircheley Green in Hertford.

"We are aware of the redevelopment taking place in the immediate environment within the town centre and will remain in dialogue with our landlords regarding any disruption to future trading."